79 vette

Hello everyone I have a 79 with the original aluminum rims with the black centers around the lug nut area.I was wondering how everybody gets them to look so good.I have seen pics of members rides and there rims look awesome.Do u send them somewhere to have them redone?How can I get my rims to look that good. Thanks for the info

Paul L

This may be of interest.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=26102

78Vette-SA

Everyone has their own little tricks. This worked for me.

I took the tires off and then used paint remover to strip them down
I then used a scotchbrite (red) pad an gave them a good going over. They looked scratched after this and it's a little scarry but then:
Mothers Wheel Polish with a buffing wheel. Lots and lots
I then repainted the centers with bumper and trim black paint (I used a thin plastic sheet that I was able to roll-up into the size needed to paint the centers and then just put it inside the wheel and shot the black paint into it - you could also just tape up the wheel).
Put the tires back on and
I then put on some new Center Caps (using black RTV to hold them on - just a couple of dabs).
I also put new lugs nuts on.
On the car and a coat of wax.

It took a few hours but it was worth it.

Tom T

A lot of us including me have used Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish on our Factory alloys and have been happy with the results. Comes in a small
Red & White container.

Good Luck!

CWUin82

Mothers mag polish works best. Lots of elbow grease too! Just did mine last week and had someone ask today if they were new.

Trent81

The best product that I have found is GS-27, believe it or not. It dosen't do sh_t for scratches but is the best Alumn. Polish that I have used. It beats mothers, Zap and any other product hands down. Takes half the time as mothers. I have a 81 with just over 20,000 miles on it and trust me I wouldn't use it if it didn't work. Give it a try on a small area first. I promise you won't be dissapointed. Just my $.02 worth

Trent81

79 vette

once u strip the clear coat and clean and paint the rims do u put the clear coat back :confused:

78Vette-SA

I did not clear coat the wheels after. Not even sure if they were clearcoated before. I used paint stipper to get all the black paint off.

Paul L

I don't have clearcoat on my wheels. I just use a polish (Simichrome) once every two weeks or so.